The subject matter herein relates generally to methods of manufacturing electrical conductors.
Electrical conductors have many forms, such as a contact, a terminal, a pin, a socket, an eye-of-needle pin, a micro-action pin, a compliant pin, a wire, a cable braid, a trace, a pad and the like. Such electrical conductors are used in many different types of products or devices, including electrical connectors, cables, printed circuit boards, and the like. The metals used in the electrical conductors are susceptible to corrosion, diffusion or other reactions, limiting their use or requiring protective coatings. For example, when copper or copper alloy electrical conductors are used, such conductors are susceptible to corrosion. A gold surface layer is typically applied to the copper as a corrosion inhibitor. However, the gold and copper materials suffer from diffusion and typically a diffusion barrier, such as nickel is deposited between the copper and gold layers.
Corrosion of base metals is detrimental to the conductor interface and signal integrity. Current plating methods used to mitigate corrosion often leave a porous surface, resulting in oxidation and corrosion of the underlying surface. Additionally, some surface layers suffer from problems associated with friction, stiction and other contact forces, limiting application of the conductors.
A need remains for an electrical conductor that addresses the aforementioned problems and other shortcomings associated with traditional electrical conductors.